NRA Tanaka meets LDP lawmaker

 December  25, 2013

Nuclear regulatory body chief meets LDP lawmaker

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131225_29.html 

The head of Japan's nuclear regulatory body has met a ruling party lawmaker to discuss its operations.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka has avoided meetings with politicians and utility officials, to underscore the body's independence.

This is because the former regulatory agency, which oversaw the sector at the time of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, was criticized for being controlled by the plant's operator.

A project team of the Liberal Democratic Party studying nuclear power regulation recently submitted a set of proposals regarding the NRA's operations to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

Team leader Yasuhisa Shiozaki met Tanaka on Wednesday and gave him a copy of the proposals.

The document criticizes the NRA as becoming isolated rather than independent. It urges the body to meet more people and hear a wide range of opinions, be fully accountable to win the public's trust and to put more effort into personnel training.

Shiozaki told Tanaka to make independent decisions only after communicating with a wide variety of people.

Tanaka said that will take time but he will try to meet more people next year.

Tanaka later told reporters he asked that the meeting be open to the media to avoid doubts about the NRA's independence. He stressed that the body remains firmly committed to independence.

Tanaka suggested that he will meet utility managers, saying understanding their ideas is crucial for ensuring nuclear safety.